Yesterday, all three of the major indices closed the in the green by managing to hang onto their early morning pop.

Index

Gain / Loss

Gain / Loss %

Ending Value

Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) +69.8 +0.56% 12,462.5
Nasdaq (INDEX: ^IXIC) +25.9 +0.97% 2,702.5
S&P 500 +11.38 +0.89% 1,292

The shining stars
It's so surprise that some of the biggest winners of the day were located on the Nasdaq. Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS) was up an impressive 15.7% for the day. That's good news for Eric Bleeker, our chief technology editor, who made it one of his Rising Stars picks. The company still trades at a tantalizing P/E of 8.04, so investors who haven't gotten in yet still may not have missed the boat here.

IPG Photonics (Nasdaq: IPGP) notched up a 20.3% climb for the day. The stock was spurred on by a noontime jump and sustained the momentum through the close. Although it's fallen from its July 2011 highs, the company is still up 53% over the past 12 months. With a PEG ratio of 0.75, it may be cheap with regard to future growth expectations.

What's coming down the pipeline today
Today, investors will be watching the inventory numbers for crude, which are being released at 10:30 a.m. Depending on investors' expectations, I'm sure holders of PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Short (AMEX: DTO) will see at least a little movement. The ETF is still a long way from its 52 week-high of $80.61 back in October.

The Board of Governors will also release The Beige Book today. Published eight times a year, the Beige Book is a collection of information about economic conditions through anecdotal information. I find the book enjoyable for its conversational as opposed to raw-data approach to viewing the economic condition. Look for interesting insights from many top economists and market experts that will almost certainly be rehashed as economic proxy for the next quarter or so.

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